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Archives for January 2012

Today was one of those days when my workout made me feel completely mentally energized. I went to the gym feeling scatterbrained from the day, and left feeling calm and renewed.
As the title implies, I did a leg workout and by the end of it, they felt a little jello-like (but in the most awesome way possible!). I'm sharing it with you in hopes that you'll try it out and get the same results.
I don't like when I read about workouts and am not sure what certain moves are, so I did a Google search to plug some images in here from around the web that show what exercises I'm talking about. Also, I take very minimal time in between reps and sets to feel the maximum burn and keep my heart rate up. After I did my leg workout, I hopped on the treadmill for an interval run routine (also included ... [Read More]

Unfortunately, I have a bad sore throat going on. And what do I enjoy when my throat is feeling funky? Tea, ice cream, throat drops and soup. For dinner tonight, I resisted the urge to eat ice cream as my meal and tried making a recipe for French onion soup that I found in Fitness magazine. I'm so glad that I did because this soup came out so yummy! Here are the ways this recipe is healthier for you than what you'll find at most restaurants:
- The traditional cheese used is Gruyere; use Swiss or Provolone instead to reduce fat
- Calls for wheat bread instead of the typical white bread
- Uses a lot less butter than usual French onion soup recipes
French Onion Soup
Makes 2 servings.
1 TSP butter
1 1/2- 2 large onions, thinly sliced (I think 1 1/2 was plenty but if ... [Read More]

Whew, what a busy weekend I had! It just flew by.
Some of the other military wives and I got together last night at Lips, a restaurant that features drag queen entertainment. My face hurt from laughing so much at the show.
Need I say more? It was hilarious!
After a long hike today with a girlfriend and the puppy and then running some errands, it was dinnertime. I was in one of those moods where I couldn't decide what to eat, wasn't starving, and just felt like picking on some things. I settled on a random dinner of hummus + celery, apple with sprinkled cinnamon, some Trader Joe's English cheddar with caramelized onion cheese and a hunk of multigrain bread.
A few hours later, I wanted to eat something sweet. I decided to try out a recipe from Sun-Maid Raisins that I had ripped out of a ... [Read More]

I spent the day in Temecula, CA, at what's called a Spartan Race. I went with my friend Jackie, whose husband and friends were taking part in the event, which consisted of a 9 mile run with 28 obstacles. The mountainous scenery made for a challenging run for participants, and a beautiful lake was the backdrop for the race. Here are a few shots from the day:
Watching the participants cross the finish line, there wasn't a person who didn't look completely exhausted. They had to run up steep hills, roll through mud, scale walls, crawl under barbed wire, and who knows what else. I'm sure that some of them thought they couldn't finish it, and I know there were people who got terrible cramps or aches during it. But you know what? They kept on going, kept pushing themselves to go further. I ... [Read More]

Happy Friday!
Earlier I read an issue of Fitness magazine with Brooke Burke on the cover. The article discussed her tips for staying fit. I don't know about you, but when a 40-year old woman whose given birth to 4 children and looks like that is talking about what keeps her in shape, I make sure to read. Though she's undoubtably genetically gifted, this chick seems like she is dedicated to staying in great shape. Her diet secret? She never skips a meal.
I strongly agree with Brooke on this one. Not only do I make sure to eat 3 meals a day, I typically have 2 snacks as well. Eating small meals frequently prevents you from getting too famished and craving unhealthy foods. Skipping meals puts your body on a path towards fasting and signals the metabolism to slow. Um, no thank you!
I know ... [Read More]

A certain spoiled puppy was pretty happy she got to run around at the park for a bit this afternoon:
Something about Harley sitting next to me in the passenger's seat looking out the window and making that face like she's ecstatic with life cracks me up.
I was rewarded for my playtime efforts by getting some peace and quiet for the rest of the afternoon:
Moving on to food, I threw together a nutrient dense side as part of my dinner tonight, which I'm deeming fruity guacamole for lack of a better term. Did you know avocado is a fruit? I just found this information out recently. For some reason I always thought of it as a veggie. Add avocado to my list of "fruits" that I think of and refer to as vegetables (bell pepper and tomato are also on that list!).
Fruity Guac
1 avocado
1/2 fresh ... [Read More]